


Lonely Scholar

by bakhoe



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - College/University, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Love, No Angst, No Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:53:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28726161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bakhoe/pseuds/bakhoe
Summary: College/Bookstore AU!(Y/N) is head-over-heels for her new coworker at the small bookstore she just got hired at, Lonely Scholar! Is introverted Armin, a blue-eyed blond who just stole her heart, her prince charming?
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Reader
Comments: 7
Kudos: 43





	Lonely Scholar

**Author's Note:**

> I suck at summaries, but thank you for clicking on my work even though you read that atrocious intro! I hope you like it and stick around to the end!

Sasha tugged on the black knitted sweater (Y/N) had on, the pulling becoming more aggressive by the second while the distance between the two girls became dramatic. (Y/N) could practically hear the sweater beg for mercy, so she decided to jog alongside her best friend though the snow made it difficult to tread safely. (Y/N) turned to face Sasha, feeling the brunette’s eyes on her, and to no surprise-- Sasha was flashing one of her famous Colgate smiles. 

_ That smile _ , (Y/N) thought as she analyzed her friend,  _ that smile was what lured me into being her friend, such a genuine soul. Sasha just had the power of making people fawn over her. With her kindness and free-spirit, like a horse in the wild waiting to be tamed, she’s honestly perfect. I’m glad we’re friends, hopefully, those traits rub off on me…  _

As if life wanted to prove (Y/N) right, Sasha let go of her friend’s sweater and ran to the car, and got in quickly to turn it on and warm it up before driving away. (Y/N) looked at the thick boots she had on covering her feet from the snow and ice on the ground, pondering if sprinting to the car was a good idea. But, there was no need to as by the time she made up her mind she already made it to the car, allowing her to shove her backpack to the back and quickly get in the front.

“It’s the way you’re so forgetful for me,” Sasha laughed, driving out of the campus parking lot and quickly glancing at the time.  _ At least we have five minutes to get there, that shouldn’t be too bad.  _ “Agh, I know!” (Y/N) laughed, running her hands through her hair. “If it weren’t for Ymir mentioning her job interview from last week, I think I would’ve completely forgotten,” (Y/N) muttered. “You should’ve told me you had an interview, I would’ve reminded you. Especially because I need to buy a book for class,” Sasha smiled, turning to smile gently at her friend. 

Flustered, (Y/N) turned her body to completely face her friend driving so she didn’t have to strain her neck. “I shouldn’t have to tell you, honestly, I was probably trying to subconsciously detriment my chances of getting a job I might like. My id wants to make me into a sugar baby,” (Y/N) joked, shaking her head. “She just wants simple pleasures,” Sasha followed, joking about the silly Freudian theory. “Don’t worry about it though, I love helping you. Remember how in high school you would always leave your coffee cup in the top of my car, so I would just get it for you?” Sweet laughter between the two friends erupted in the car between the foolish actions of (Y/N).

“Well,” (Y/N) spoke after calming down her giggles. “Floch hated that about me, do you think that’s why he broke up with me?” 

“Of course not, he’s just dumb. You should just date me,” Sasha teased. “I love you and your forgetfulness!” Sasha began to slow down the car as the little bookstore in the corner came up to view, causing (Y/N) to look at the clock. 

_ … a  _ **_minute left?!_ **

(Y/N) quickly unbuckled her seatbelt, the car not even parked as she stretched to the backseat to reach for her resume. “Tell me how it goes!” Sasha called out as (Y/N) jumped out the car, waving and slamming the car door, cringing at how hard she did. “Thank you, I’ll rate you five stars!” (Y/N) yelled, hoping Sasha could hear her joke while pushing on the glass door entrance of the local bookshop. The (hair color)-haired girl could feel her boots weighing her down with snow, relieved to find a plastic welcome mat, stomping repeatedly on the plastic. 

_ God I’m late, actually! Am I? Maybe I’m right on time,  _ (Y/N) thought as she searched for her phone to look at the time and continued to stomp like a child throwing a tantrum. A thought crossed her brain,  _ If the manager is watching me stomp like this, I will literally just leave.  _

A blush peaked on her cheeks as she came into eye contact with not only a pair of eyes but the most beautiful blue ones that could only compete with Historia’s. He had a nice pair of oversized glasses on, blond hair in a nice undercut, silky skin that looked like royalty.  _ A prince, this man literally just looks like a prince. _

“Hey! Welcome to the Lonely Scholar, I’m Armin. If you need anything at all, let me know, I’ll be here or shelving some books.”

_ Prince Charming with beautiful blue eyes whose name is Armin, how will we fall in love?  _ A million scenarios played in (Y/N)’s head quickly, each playful, loving, and dramatic. What could she say, she was a romantic. Yet after standing a few milliseconds too long at the door, she shook her head and began to walk towards the front desk before he could turn his back on her. “Actually, I’m here for an interview, it’s like, right now,” she laughed sheepishly, scratching her neck. 

“Oh!” Armin gleamed, putting down a few books he had wrapped around his arms. “You’re here! I’ve been waiting for you,” he said, walking over to the swinging door built into the front desk.  _ Shit. Shit. Shit. Is he the manager?  _ “Hange told me to keep an eye out for you, let me make sure they’re in the back. I’ll be back,” he said, holding a long finger up to signal he would be back then turned to walk away. 

_ He is so pretty, what a pretty man. He looks good in that color, I hope he wears red often. Well, that is if I even get the job here-- _

“Now, this is trouble, isn’t it (Y/N)?” 

(Y/N) suddenly heard Sasha whisper in her ear, causing (Y/N) to yelp in surprise at her friend’s presence. The brunette began to laugh loudly, placing a hand against her stomach. “You’re so easy to scare!” (Y/N) shook her head and leaned into Sasha to force her to quiet down, “Sasha, they heard me raise my voice!”

She threw her hands up in the air, her brown eyes ready to cause mischief. “I have to prepare you, you get so jittery with pretty boys. I might not be a boy but I am pretty,” she said loudly once again, hinting at Armin being pretty. She wasn’t wrong. “Shut up!” (Y/N) said frantically, hiding her red face behind her hands. “They’ll hear you!”

Sasha calmed down, leaning against the front desk to face (Y/N) better. “Aw, I’m sorry, you know I like to tease. I told you I was coming in though, I need a book,” she slumped, pouting. (Y/N) peaked from behind her hands, making sure no one she was trying to impress was around and straightened up her appearance. “I should wait until you get hired and make you help me!” Sasha said, getting excited once again. “I wouldn’t be able to help you today, you need to wait until I get my first shift soon,” (Y/N) pondered. 

“Glad to hear you’re confident about getting this job!” A voice boomed out from behind an aisle of books called out, causing both girls to jump. Armin poked his head out first, then a tall brunette walked behind him. “Oh no! Well, yes actually, but not in a way you would think of me as cocky,” (Y/N) muttered, fumbling with her words and items in her hands. Sasha could feel she didn’t belong in the circle of employees so, taking a hint, she began to walk away with a wave and disappeared into the aisles of the books (but not before sending a thumbs up of good luck). 

“Don’t worry, I love youths who are excited to conquer the world! Even if this is their first step,” the brunette smiled and shoved a hand out for (Y/N) to shake, which she took. “I’m Hange, you?”

“My name is (Y/N),” she said timidly, feeling shy with the new people around her. “Let’s go chat in the back,” Hange said, taking the resume (Y/N) was handing them. (Y/N) nodded, smiling as she followed the brunette and mouthed a quick ‘thank you’ to her beautiful, very real, but imaginary prince husband. 

*

“Thank you! Thank you so much, you don’t understand how excited I am for this job!” (Y/N) gushed as she began to walk out the backdoor towards the entrance of the store. Shelves were lined with books, sporting different colors and finishes, allowing the little shop to have a familiar and cozy vibe to it. She smiled up to her new manager, Hange reciprocating a kind smile. “No, thank you for applying,” they said, their voice booming in the quiet store.  _ How ironic. _ “You seem like such a good fit, the only other person I’ve seen this well-versed, who isn’t me, is Armin! You will definitely be of great help when he isn’t around or I’m busy,” Hange said, placing a hand on (Y/N) shoulder. 

“This is Armin! You guys already spoke, but,” he turned to face Armin, using a single hand to gesture at the (brunette/blonde/red-head/etc). “She is officially one of the employees of Lonely Scholar!”

(Y/N) smiled and did small jazz hands, causing the blond boy to chuckle. “Nice to meet you officially (Y/N), can’t wait to work with you,” he said, leaning both arms against the front desk. He had a nice, shy smile on display causing (Y/N)’s heart to flutter while her brain kept repeating the words:  _ Blue-Eyed Prince Charming. _

“Yeah, for sure!” 

“She starts on Monday at two, so you’ll have the same shift,” Hange explained to Armin, allowing him to nod. “Am I going to train her?” He asked, which Hange nodded to.  _ You can train me all you like. _ “Nice, I’ll let you know now, I’ve never trained someone before. So, we’ll see how that goes,” Armin commented, laughing a little. 

(Y/N) laughed along until she felt a delicate hand land against her shoulder, making her turn around to face the culprit. Sasha, who had two books against her chest and a bright smile on her face. 

“What a coincidence we finished at the same time!”

(Y/N) knew better to know that this was no coincidence, she was probably waiting around the corner for her opportunity to sneak up and join her after the interview. “I heard you got the job over the PA,” she joked, alluding to how loud Hange was when they announced her employment to Armin. (Y/N) heard Hange laugh and state how they never heard someone call them a PA before, and she turned to face Armin again. Yet, her stomach flopped down when she saw him glancing at Sasha in an indescribable way. 

_ She is pretty, does he like her? Well, Mister Prince Charming, she has a boyfriend! _

Hange excused themselves, stating they had a few calls to make and that they couldn’t wait for (Y/N) to start on Monday. Sasha placed her books on the front desk and smiled at the boy, uttering a small hey, then quickly looking down at her purse to fish out her card. Armin’s eyes didn’t leave her figure, causing (Y/N) to feel a little bit jealous at the attention she was getting. Sasha finally found the plastic card and held it out to Armin awkwardly, noticing how watchful he was of her. (Y/N) could already hear the apologies in the car and the squeals of ‘We’ll get him to like you, promise!’

“Hey…” he trailed off, something visibly on the tip of his tongue. “Actually,” (Y/N) pouted, knowing the next words to come out of his mouth. 

_ Would you wanna go out sometime?  _ “Aren’t you dating Connie?” 

_ Huh? _

“Yes! Do you know him?” Sasha questioned, smiling as Armin took the debit card. “Yeah, I do, we went to high school together. He used to hang around some people I knew, nothing crazy though,” Armin explained, smiling. “I follow him on Instagram though, so I knew I recognized you from somewhere.” 

She hummed happily as he placed the books in a paper bag, waiting for the receipt to print out. “Tell him I said I’ll reach out to him sometime soon!” Armin gleamed, a charming smile decorating his face while he handed Sasha her bag. 

“Yeah, totally!” She said, stepping back and waving at the blond. Armin looked up from what he was staring at to make eye contact with (Y/N) once again, smiling silently. 

“See you on Monday, can’t wait to get to know you,” he said, while a blush rose on (Y/N)’s face. “Sotally,” she said, cringing at her fumble. “I meant to say ‘super’ and ‘totally’ at the same time, anyways, yeah, okay, hah bye!” She quickly muttered, waving, and rushing out the front door, leaving a smiling Armin at the front desk watching after the anxious girl. 

*

“You should have seen her! I have never seen her fumble like that around a boy, ever!” Sasha laughed from the kitchen of the apartment (Y/N) and her shared, calling out to Historia who was in (Y/N)’s room. (Y/N) whined as she fixed her sweater and blouse once more, closing her eyes shut. “Ugh, I know, it was so embarrassing!” She called out, to which Historia giggled. “I bet it wasn’t that bad,” the blonde reassured. “Oh it was bad,” Sasha teased as she brought in snacks from the kitchen. “But I talked to Connie about it, he said that Armin is super sweet and shy, so I told (Y/N) not to worry about what he thought. He’s probably just happy he has some attention from some girl,” Sasha stated, chomping on some pita chips and hummus. Sasha took a double take and smacked her hand against her mouth, “you look so different!” 

“I can’t go in there with my normal closet, I probably have to dress professionally!” (Y/N) defended herself, placing a hand against her hip. 

“You might get tired with the heels though,” Historia commented sweetly, knowing that (Y/N) had to walk to the bookstore. “You’re right!”

“She just wants to look good for her lover boy!” Sasha sang as (Y/N) looked for flats to wear to the shop. The (brunette/blonde/red-head/etc) laughed and shook her head as she found the comfy flats she wore during internships and gathered the items she needed to take. 

“Do I look ridiculous?” (Y/N) asked, beginning to become self-conscious. 

“Nah, you look like a hot CEO from New York. Oh my God, and it’s winter! What if this is your Hallmark movie romance?” Sasha called out as Historia reassured the standing woman how nice she looked in her attire. 

“Okay,” (Y/N) called out, ignoring Sasha’s joke as she continued to laugh at it. “I’m leaving, you guys can freely gossip about me now. I’ll call you guys if it gets too dark by the end of my shift,” (Y/N) said quickly, putting on a winter coat. The two girls inside the apartment called out to the working woman, cheering her on and telling her to get that cash as (Y/N) closed the apartment door. 


End file.
